Official: Suspect in custody in NY car bomb attack


Bomb attempt: This still photo from a surveillance camera, released by the New York City Police Department, Sunday, shows the Nissan Pathfinder used in the attempted attack on Times Square passing through Times Square on Saturday. (AP/Henny Ray Abrams)B

A law enforcement official says a suspect has been taken into custody in the failed Times Square car bomb attack.

The official spoke to The Associated Press early Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

The propane-and-gasoline bomb was found Saturday in an SUV parked near a Broadway theater showing "The Lion King."

A bomb squad dismantled it. The area was evacuated for 10 hours. No one was hurt.

The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was taken into custody late Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives while trying to leave the country, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials. He was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding a flight to Dubai, Holder said early Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.

Shahzad was being held in New York overnight and couldn't be contacted. He has a Shelton, Conn., address; a phone number listed there wasn't in service.

The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan was handling the case and said Shahzad would appear in court Tuesday, but the charges were not made public.

Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

The vehicle identification number had been removed from the Pathfinder's dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner of record, who told them he had sold the vehicle to a stranger.

As the SUV buyer came into focus, investigators backed off other leads, although Holder said U.S. authorities "will not rest until we have brought everyone responsible to justice," suggesting additional suspects are being sought.